All the Ways We Said Goodbye

A Novel of the Ritz Paris

By: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

Narrated by: Helen Sadler, Nicola Barber, Saskia Maarleveld

The New York Times bestselling authors of The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room return with a glorious historical adventure that moves from the dark days of two World Wars to the turbulent years of the 1960s, in which three women with bruised hearts find refuge at Paris’ legendary Ritz hotel.

The heiress . . .
The Resistance fighter . . .
The widow . . .
Three women whose fates are joined by one splendid hotel

France, 1914. As war breaks out, Aurelie becomes trapped on the wrong side of the front with her father, Comte Sigismund de Courcelles. When the Germans move into their family’s ancestral estate, using it as their headquarters, Aurelie discovers she knows the German Major’s aide de camp, Maximilian Von Sternburg. She and the dashing young officer first met during Aurelie’s debutante days in Paris. Despite their conflicting loyalties, Aurelie and Max’s friendship soon deepens into love, but betrayal will shatter them both, driving Aurelie back to Paris and the Ritz— the home of her estranged American heiress mother, with unexpected consequences.

France, 1942. Raised by her indomitable, free-spirited American grandmother in the glamorous Hotel Ritz, Marguerite “Daisy” Villon remains in Paris with her daughter and husband, a Nazi collaborator, after France falls to Hitler. At first reluctant to put herself and her family at risk to assist her grandmother’s Resistance efforts, Daisy agrees to act as a courier for a skilled English forger known only as Legrand, who creates identity papers for Resistance members and Jewish refugees. But as Daisy is drawn ever deeper into Legrand’s underground network, committing increasingly audacious acts of resistance for the sake of the country—and the man—she holds dear, she uncovers a devastating secret . . . one that will force her to commit the ultimate betrayal, and to confront at last the shocking circumstances of her own family history.

France, 1964. For Barbara “Babs” Langford, her husband, Kit, was the love of her life. Yet their marriage was haunted by a mysterious woman known only as La Fleur. On Kit’s death, American lawyer Andrew “Drew” Bowdoin appears at her door. Hired to find a Resistance fighter turned traitor known as “La Fleur,” the investigation has led to Kit Langford. Curious to know more about the enigmatic La Fleur, Babs joins Drew in his search, a journey of discovery that that takes them to Paris and the Ritz—and to unexpected places of the heart. . . .

Loved it

I think this might be my favorite of the author trios writings. I listened to this on Audible and the narration was also excellent. Told by three different authors about three different women in three different time periods and weaving it all together. Fantastic!

Predictable plot

Midway through the book a reader can surmise the plot “twists” which I won’t reveal.

Kept me interested!

At times, I needed a family tree but kept up when I quickly realized the heroines overlapped. I would have liked more of a connection in storyline with what Daisys husband referred to when he said he did something to her lover.

Beautiful and a Page Turner.

One of my most favorite books ever. A great combination of well developed, lovable characters, intrigue, mystery, and history.

Great Plot

A magnificent hotel, an intricately woven plot, three strong women characters written by three eloquent authors.

SUMMARY
France, 1914. Aurelie is at her family’s ancestral home, when the Germans move in and begin using it as their headquarters, Aurelie discovers she knows one of the German officers, Maximilian Von Sternburg. Despite their conflicting loyalties, Aurelie and Max’s friendship soon deepens into a love, that will shatter them both.

France, 1942. Daisy was raised by her indomitable grandmother in the glamorous Hotel Ritz. She continues to live in Paris with her two children and her husband Pierre, who becomes a Nazi collaborator after France falls to Hitler. Daisy agrees to act as a courier for a skilled English forger, who creates identity papers for the resistance and for Jewish refugees. As Daisy is drawn deeper into the underground network, she uncovers secret information, and commit the ultimate betrayal.

France, 1964. Babs was haunted by a mysterious woman known by her husband, Kit, as La Fleur. After Kit’s death, American lawyer Andrew “Drew” Bowdoin appears at Bab’s door. He was hired to find the Resistance fighter turned traitor known as “La Fleur,” Curious to know more about La Fleur, Babs joins Drew in his search, a journey of discovery that that takes them to Paris and the Ritz—and to unexpected places of the heart….


REVIEW
Three strong women characters, three eloquent women authors, an intricately woven story and a magnificent hotel. What could be better? The writing was superb and the story was mesmerizing. I enjoyed following the alternating chapters of Aurelie, Daisy and Babs and discerning their role in the story and their connections to one another.


One of my favorite parts of this beguiling story was the transitions between chapters which take place decades apart. While perhaps just a little thing, I very much looked forward to these skillfully-crafted transitions which referenced to an item, for example, a scarf, at the conclusion of one chapter and then picks up on a scarf reference in the opening scene of the next chapter. This simple connection between the chapters captivated me. The attention to details such as this, makes this a treasure of a book,. If you like historical fiction, strong women characters, and a little romance thrown in this is the book for you.

I also appreciated the reference to the Scarlet Pimpernel and to the French Revolution.

Thanks to authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig for a delightful experience. I listened to the audible version of the book and felt the narrators also helped bring the story to life.